Name: KU Children's Services
Price range: $

Our Program and Approach

At KU Queanbeyan South, we aim to ensure children’s social and educational needs are enhanced, by providing a variety of experiences that are meaningful and relevant, enabling children to enjoy, participate, learn, practice, experiment and become proficient members of the community. We provide a safe, nurturing and enriching environment that is reflective of the children’s home environment and where their happiness and wellbeing is paramount.

As educators, we believe that play is essential to young children's learning and development. We acknowledge and support children's interests and strengths to enhance and facilitate their learning process. We endeavour to meet the needs of children's natural curiosity by providing opportunities for them to experiment, discover, solve problems and find out more about themselves, other people and the world around them.

Our program offers children the opportunity to engage in a wide variety of learning experiences and activities, each specifically designed to promote children’s confidence as capable, active participants in their own learning. Children are presented with a range of activities including gardening, arts and crafts, music and movement, physical play, block building, sand and water play, science experiments, early numeracy activities such as counting and measurement, and early literacy activities such as reading, drawing and writing.

At KU Queanbeyan South, we are proud of our reputation within the local community of providing rich education and care that concentrates on individual children in a family-focussed and supportive way.

We greatly value the strong relationships between our staff, children and families, and we look forward to the opportunity of including your family in the life of our centre.

We Focus On

In addition to the high quality well-rounded programs we offer, all KU centres are also encouraged to develop an area of focus.

At KU Queanbeyan South, our focus in Science and Technology.

We incorporate this into our program through the use of coding, smart boards, virtual technology, science experiments and investigation opportunities.

We feel that the children benefit from this focus as it allows them to investigate technology in a meaningfully way to their current level of understanding and to hypothesis and investigate what is happening in the world around them.

Our Quality

Our centre has been independently assessed by the Department of Education NSW under the National Quality Standards, and are proud to be rated as Exceeding the National Quality Standard.

However what matters most is what our families think...

“My son has been at KU Queanbeyan South since he was three months old. As a parent, there is nothing better than knowing your child is in safe hands. The staff are friendly and approachable and my mind is at ease knowing my son has the best care!” – KU Queanbeyan South parent

“My three children have attended KU Queanbeyan South for a number of years and I cannot fault the way they have been cared for and introduced to learning. The staff are friendly and take an active interest in getting to know each child and to learn and encourage the values which are important to the family. Throughout our time at the centre, there has been very little turnover with both the staff and the other children, which has greatly helped my children feel settled and happy to attend. I have great confidence my children are well cared for and are actively learning when I am not able to be with them.” – KU Queanbeyan South parent

Our Environment

Each KU centre is unique. The best outcomes for children are created within relationships and interactions between children and staff, and children and their families, not within four walls. We work hard to create beautiful, interesting, homelike learning environments for children – whatever our setting.

KU Queanbeyan South is located on the grounds of the local primary school, where the children often participate in assemblies and special events.

Our playground is designed to maximise the use of the natural environment and allow children to play and explore as they would in their own backyard. We offer stimulating activities that arouse children’s curiosity and encourage them to choose from a variety of planned experiences, expanding their learning potential. Our playground includes natural elements such as sand, water, grass, mud, leaves and twigs, and we also offer gross motor experiences such as climbing, jumping and physical play. We foster the holistic development of each child so they feel inspired to create, imagine and play.

Our Awards

The Annual KU Difference Awards were introduced a number of years ago, as a way of acknowledging KU staff who have made a significant contribution to KU. These annual awards are open to all KU staff, at any level (either individual staff or a team), who have worked above and beyond their normal duties.

In 2018, the team at KU Queanbeyan South was awarded the 'Making the KU Difference for Families' Award.

Our Reconciliation Action Plan

KU was proud to launch its inaugural Innovate Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP) in 2016. At KU Queanbeyan South, we began our journey to develop our centre’s RAP in 2017 and we are proud to present it here .

Other Features

Child Care Subsidy

Cooked Meal

Hat and Sunscreen

Transition to School

Play-based Learning

Parking

Outdoor Play

Nappies

Storypark

Award

Education for Sustainability

Director

Rachel Robinson

Our Team

Our team of early childhood educators are qualified, experienced, caring and highly motivated. All hold specialist qualifications in early childhood education. We believe that the positive interactions children have with our staff are the most important component of our high quality program.

The daily fees for 2024 at KU Queanbeyan South Early Learning Centre are:

Infants: $145
Toddlers: $145
Preschoolers: $143

This is the full daily fee. If you are entitled to Child Care Subsidy, this will reduce the daily fee you are charged.

In an increasingly competitive marketplace, KU has remained very proudly a not-for-profit provider of quality education for more than 125 years. In the past, KU has taken great pride in offering the very best services with minimal increased fees wherever possible. However this year is different, escalating operating costs have meant that in 2024 we are forced to increase fees at a higher rate than we would normally.

The fee increase will ensure we can continue to improve the quality of our services and invest in our highly skilled teachers and educators. We recognise our staff are the heart of KU as they build strong nurturing relationships with children and families whilst continuing to provide a high-quality learning program. These are vital factors that contribute to what is most important to us all – the best outcomes for children.

Overall, KU services hold the highest ratings across the National Quality Standard, with 82% of our services either Excellent or Exceeding, compared to the sector benchmark of 45%.

KU does not distribute our profits to shareholders or send them offshore.

About Child Care Subsidy

Child Care Subsidy is the main payment to assist families with the costs of childcare. It is paid directly to the childcare provider and passed onto families as a fee reduction wherever families meet the criteria. The level of subsidy you receive, as well as the number of hours you will be subsidised, depends on your individual family’s circumstances.

If you do not already have one, you will need a MyGov account linked to Centrelink to claim any subsidy you may be eligible for, and to find out more information, please contact Centrelink on 136 150 or visit www.dese.gov.au.

NSW Start Strong Fee Relief

From 2024, the NSW government has provided additional fee relief funding, based on $2,110 per eligible 4 year old child attending a preschool program within a long day care service. This funding is applied as a weekly credit to the gap fee after CCS has been applied or to full fees where a family does not receive CCS. The Start Strong fee relief will not impact CCS entitlements.

If your child is 3 years old and not yet 4 years old on, or before 31 July 2024 and enrolled at an eligible long day care service, you will receive up to $500 in fee relief.

Start Strong fee relief funding is for children who are 4 years old on or before 31 July 2024, and can only be accessed in one service. This could either be in a community preschool or long day care service. If you have a child who may be eligible, please discuss this with your service Director.

The NSW Department of Education requires parents to sign the ‘Fee Relief Declaration and Consent’ form at the time of enrolment. Your eligibility for Start Strong fee relief Funding is conditional upon signing this form.